Reading Made Easy with

Blend Phonics for First Grade

Lesson Plans and Teacher’s Guide

Hazel Logan Loring

This publication is a project of the Logan Institute for Educational Excellence

Copyright © 1980 by Mrs. Hazel Logan Loring

Revised Edition Copyright © 2017 by Donald L. Potter

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WHY TEACH BLEND PHONICS?

It is my belief that most reading failures are caused by the perfectly normal and very common tendency of many children to look at words from right to left. That this tendency is neither abnormal nor pathological is evident by the fact that many languages are written from right to left: Hebrew, Arabic, etc. Before the time of Homer, Greek inscriptions were written in the bustrophedon (pathway of the ox) form: one line from left to right; the next line from right to left. Oriental languages are written in a vertical manner. There is no “physiologically correct” or incorrect direction in which a language may have been developed. When a child sees a word as a whole he or she has no way of knowing in which direction it should be looked at until the correct direction is shown. Each child will look at it in whatever direction his/her tendencies dictate. If the word is in English and the child looks at it from right to left, he/she is in BIG TROUBLE: “ten” is not the same as “net”; “pat” is not the same as “tap” and if instead of “fun” some children see “nuf” they are headed toward confusion. It has been common practice to teach the word as a whole in the first grade and, then, later, in second grade, to introduce phonics in the form of word analysis. That is, the child is expected to break down the whole word into its component parts and thus deduce the relationship between phonemics (sounds) and graphemes (symbols). This method can be reasonably successful if the child has a natural left to right tendency, is capable of deductive reasoning, and has memorized the whole word accurately. But what of the children of equal or even superior intelligence who have a natural right to left tendency? They cannot deduce correct phoneme/grapheme relationships because they are working from a false premise when they see the whole word in a reversed order. Even though they may have 20/20 vision. they do not see what the teacher sees in the expected order. They hear the phonemes in a left to right order, while seeing the graphemes from right to left – or perhaps in a confused – direction. This explains why some people think of word analysis as “phony phonics,” and why the confused child is thought to have a learning disability or “dyslexia.” To be fair, although most techniques in word analysis are useless for the children with directional problems – or may even add to the confusion – there is one technique that may be helpful, i.e., that of teaching of the initial consonant as part of the whole word. As long as care is taken to be sure that each child looks at the first letter in the word as the sound is heard, the child will be able to learn the consonant sound. BUT THIS IS NOT ENOUGH. They must be able to learn the vowel sounds, and it is imperative that they be given early directional training. I have a daughter who taught for more than eleven years has taught remedial reading in an urban adult education institute. High school graduates, who have diplomas but who cannot read on a second grade level, come to her for tutoring. She tells me that most of them know the consonant sounds, but they cannot learn to read until after they have had training in blend phonics.

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Directional guidance is inherent in the system of blend phonics. First we show the student the initial consonant in isolation and teach its sound. (True, we cannot pronounce the pure sound in isolation but must add a neutral vowel – or schwa - sound. However, this is of no importance because the schwa sound will be elided when we make the blend.) Next we show the student the vowel grapheme and teach its sound. Then we blend the two sounds together before adding the next consonant. There is no way for the child to go except from left to right, and with enough practice an automatic left to right habit is acquired. Then, to insure comprehension, it has been my practice to have the student use the completed word in a verbal sentence. Directional guidance is also inherent in spelling and writing. They are the other side of the same coin and much practice should be given in all three skills: spelling, writing and reading, reading and more reading. There is nothing new about the material that we use in teaching blend phonics. It can all be found in “A Guide to Pronunciation” in the front of any dictionary. Take a look at it and you’ll say, “Wow, teach that to First graders? Impossible!!” It is not surprising that some anti-phonics persons say that it cannot be done. The trick is to present these seemingly complicated facts in a simplified, streamlined, bare bones version that can be assimilated by a six-year old or younger. There are bound to be differences of opinion as to the order in which the facts should be presented, and also as to which grapheme/phoneme relationships occur with sufficient frequency to be considered “regular,” and which are so rare as to be called “irregular.” Even pronunciations may vary due to geographical and ethnic differences. English is a wondrous and varied means of communication, but at heart it is simple and consistent. In first grade we must teach the heart of the subject and not get bogged down with linguistic niceties. In this way we can provide the basic tool that a person can develop and expand all through life to enjoy a means of communication to express the most complex thoughts and feelings, and to understand those of fellow human beings. I found I could provide this tool adequately in its simplest form to my school children in daily half-hour sessions in the first semester of the first grade. By starting in September, children have gained a working knowledge of the 44 phonetic elements in the English language and an overall concept of its basic structure before winter vacation. While their knowledge may not be l00% perfect, it will be sufficient so that they can, with the teacher’s continuing help as needed, utilize the phonic key to unlock 85% of the words in the English language. (The other 15%, while largely regular, contain phonetic irregularities which sometimes require a little extra help from the teacher.) The format of these lessons consists in taking a regular word and building it up phonetically as a class exercise. Then a child is called on to use it in a sentence. At first it is sometimes practically necessary to put the words in the child’s mouth until it is understood what is meant by making up a sentence. As soon as the child catches on, the lessons become lively and spirited. The children are eager to participate. (When I inadvertently failed to give a child a turn, I heard about it!)

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It was something like “Show and Tell” without the “Show.” Instead of using a “Show” object as an inspiration for conversation, we used the key word which we had built up phonetically. Actually it was a language lesson as well as a reading lesson because the children learned to speak in complete, correct sentences. The context was limited only by the children's speaking vocabularies and was not confined to sentences like. “Go. go, run. run, see, see” or like “A fat cat sat on a mat.” I recall one instance when we had sounded out the word “mill.” To avoid missing anyone, ordinarily I called on the children in turn, but this time I simply had to break the rule to call on the little fellow who was waving his hand frantically and just bursting to tell us something. He blurted out, “My daddy has a sawmill.” Now that’s what I call reading with comprehension! True, we read only one word at a time but it was always phonetically regular and there was no guesswork. By the time we had completed the 47 Units, the children had the feeling of security that comes from knowing that the language was basically an ordered, dependable system. As we came to words in our books that contained irregularities, they were welcomed as something surprising, unique, different and thus easy to remember. It is possible to teach this work from the chalkboard, but it means that the teacher is half turned away from the class. An overhead projector is ideal because the lighted area holds the children’s attention and, since the teacher faces the class directly, there is better control and more eye contact. As to textbooks with which to implement this study, it would no doubt be easier for the teacher who is using blend phonics for the first time if phonics-based texts were available, correlated more or less with the structured phonics lessons. However, I can vouch from both tutoring and actual classroom experience that any books—old or new—can be used if they are of interest to the children and suitable for their age level. A few problems may be encountered in the first four months if the books have words that contain phonetic elements that have not as yet been introduced in the structured phonics lessons, but it is not too difficult to muddle through this phase. After the children have been exposed to the 44 phonetic elements, they can tackle anything with a little help from their teacher. Frequently, delighted parents reported to me that their children were reading from newspapers and magazines and were devouring library books at a great rate. In the second semester we used much enrichment material. All of the children belonged to our Book Club. They took home books that they selected during regularly scheduled visits to the school library. My Room Mother arranged to have a volunteer mother sit in the hallway outside the classroom two afternoons a week. The children were excused from the classroom one by one to give brief book reports to the mother who added a star to the child’s bookmark for each book read. Blend phonics is just about the easiest lesson to teach that can be imagined. No preparation is needed (except to have at hand a copy of the groups of words as given in the LESSON PLANS); no papers to correct for this phase of the reading lesson; no compulsory tests to be given. The children themselves do most of the work by making up sentences, and thus they learn by doing. It’s easy; it’s inexpensive and it works!

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LESSON PLANS FOR THE TEACHING OF BLEND PHONICS IN FIRST GRADE

Do not delay teaching the names of the letters of the alphabet. They are not only necessary in spelling and in the use of the dictionary, the telephone directory and alphabetical filing systems, but they will help in teaching the sounds. The sounds of many consonants are heard in the letters’ names and the long sounds of the vowels a, e, i, o and u* are identical to their names.

(NOTE: Because the soft sounds of the letters c and g are heard in these letters’ names and thus are easier to teach, we introduce the hard sounds first and provide plenty of opportunity to practice them. Also we make sure the student is familiar with the short sounds of vowels before we present the easy-to-teach long sounds.)

The vowels are a, e, i, o, u and sometimes y. If a letter is not a vowel, then it is a consonant.

In our first lessons in blend phonics (or word building), we teach the sound of a consonant, then the short sound of a vowel. The child is taught to look at these letters from left to right (IMPORTANT) as they are presented to him one by one and as the sound is blended. Then we add another consonant to form a word which the child uses in a verbal sentence to insure comprehension.

It is true that, when we pronounce the sound of a consonant in isolation, it is necessary to add an extraneous neutral (or schwa) sound. This is of no importance because, when the consonant is blended with the vowel, the schwa sound is elided. For example: b says b-uh a says ă Blend b-uh and ă to make bă The uh sound has disappeared.

The great advantage of this technique is the fact that the child has received directional guidance and has been taught, step by step, to look at the word from left to right. This is extremely important because many children have a normal, natural tendency to look at words from right to left. When shown the word as a whole, they may not see what the teacher sees. If shown the word ten the child may see n-e-t. Such reversals cause serious confusion when the child is shown whole words as is the case in the look-say method which incorporates no detailed directional guidance.

After you make the blend, ba, add the letter t to form the word bat. Have the child make up a verbal sentence using the word bat. If necessary, use leading questions to help the child think of a sentence.

For example: TEACHER: If you have a ball, what do you do with the bat?

CHILD: I hit the ball with the bat.

Use this format to teach each of the words in Unit I for the short sound of a. Then introduce the short sound of i and teach the children to sound out as many of the words given in Unit 2 as are necessary for good practice. Choose the words that will be most interesting to the class and, of course, let the children take turns using each word in a verbal sentence. Continue in the same manner with short o, short u and short e. Short e may give some difficulty because the sound of this letter is easily confused with the short sound of i. (We have all heard some people say “git” or “get” and “ingine” for “engine.”)

*u has two long sounds. One is the same as its name; the other is like long oo.

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When teaching this work to an individual, use a chalkboard, slate or paper and pencil. For teaching a class, a chalkboard is adequate but an overhead projector is ideal because the teacher is able to face the class directly.

You will notice that the units, if taught in the order given, are cumulative. That is, only one new phonetic element (or related group of elements) is introduced in grapheme/phoneme relationship(s) plus those that were used in the previous units. The work proceeds step by easy step. It is not obligatory to teach phonics in this particular order, but this presentation is one that has proved successful over the years.

When your students have completed all 47 units they will have been introduced to all of the regular phonetic elements in the English language. They will then have the tools with which they can sound out 85% of all words. Most children will need help in implementing this basic knowledge in actual reading and may need help in identifying the graphemes in a word. For example, when the student comes to the word, teaching, it may be necessary to help break it down into its phonetic components: t-ea-ch-ing. Often it takes only a quiet hint: (ea sounds like long e) to give the child the clue needed.

To help students with the 15% of words that contain phonetic irregularities, consult your dictionary. Write the word as it is given in parentheses following the correct spelling in the dictionary. For example, said (sed). Although students must learn the correct spelling, they can sound out the word as it is given in parentheses.

Phonetic irregularities occur most frequently in short, commonly used words. As the child reads more advanced material the phonic training will become increasingly useful and the child can achieve independence in reading unfamiliar words.

The basic work should be presented to a class in one semester (Sept.-Dec.) in half-hour periods daily in the first grade. Where large groups of words are given (as in Units 2, 6, 13, 14, etc.) choose only the words that will be most interesting. You do not need to teach all of them. Large word lists have been included to demonstrate how the phonics system provides the key to unlock unlimited numbers of words…unlike the narrow capabilities of the “controlled vocabularies” associated with the look-say method.

It is helpful to lay out a schedule at the beginning of the semester, allotting certain time-periods in which to present words from a given number of units. The objective would be to introduce all of the units before winter vacation. Remember that this formal introduction is merely the foundation. It starts the child off right by giving strong directional guidance and an overall understanding of the phonetic structure of the language. It must be accompanied by—and followed by—much practice in writing and reading of books.

If one is adapting this material to individual work—rather than a class—it is well to plan on at least 50 hours in which the basic units are supplemented by exercises in writing and practice in reading.

Phonics-based textbooks are useful—especially for those who are teaching phonics for the first time. However, the lack of such textbooks is no excuse for the failure to teach the material in these Lesson Plans. Any sort of book may be used. The writer has done it successfully using the only books at hand: look-say basal readers! When words are encountered which contain sounds that have not as yet been taught in formal phonics lessons, they may be offered as whole words or better still, if the teacher feels up, to it, may be presented as a “preview” of what is to come in the formal sessions.

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The writer knows from actual classroom experience that, even though the textbook material is not coordinated with the structured phonics lessons, the problem will solve itself when, in a few weeks’ time, the class has completed the 47 units in these Lesson Plans. Don’t make a big issue of it. Be patient, pleasant and adaptable during textbook reading lessons but, on the other hand, do not let anything interfere with the daily half-hour formal phonics sessions. At the end of the first semester, with the guidance and assistance of the teacher and with supplementary work in writing and spelling, the children will be able to sound out words in any reading material suitable to their age level. If millage failures and tight budgets—or the prejudice of school administrators or supervisors—preclude the possibility of new phonics-based textbooks, don’t despair. Remember how many persons in history learned to read with only the Bible or Pilgrim’s Progress for textbooks and, though Abraham Lincoln never saw a basal reader, he achieved mastery of the English Language. Do plan a tentative schedule before you begin to teach this material. The 47 units in these Lesson Plans should be completed in about four months. Do not linger over any one unit. Do not expect the student to know perfectly the sound in one unit before you go on to the next. After all, this material is arranged to provide a continuing “built-in” review. For example, if you are teaching the word “toothbrush” in Unit 30, the only new sound is that of long oo. The other sounds, t, th, b, r, u and sh are review elements. When all 47 units have been completed, don’t worry if the student has not learned thoroughly every phonetic element that has been presented in this preliminary work. From now on, every time the student reads any written matter whatsoever it will constitute a review of the material in these Lesson Plans. It is to be expected that the student will need help and reminders for some time after the four months of initial instruction is completed. The more practice the student has in reading, the sooner complete mastery of phonic skills will be achieved.

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SEPTEMBER

SUN MON TUE WED THR FRI SAT UNIT

1 UNIT

1

UNIT 1

UNIT 2

UNIT 2

UNIT 3

UNIT 3

UNIT 3

UNIT 4

UNIT 4

UNIT 5

UNIT 5

UNIT 6

UNIT 6

UNIT 6

UNIT 7

UNIT 8

UNIT 9

UNIT 10

UNIT 11

SAMPLE

SCHEDULE AND CALENDAR

FIRST MONTH SECOND MONTH

S M T W Th F S S M T W Th F S

THIRD MONTH FOURTH MONTH

S M T W Th F S S M T W Th F S

Now you are ready for the first lesson. You have before you groups of words to guide you but, remember, these are mere skeletons of your lessons. It is your task to inspire the children to put flesh on the bones and to breathe life into them. Here is a sampling of a proven teaching method:

Here is a blank calendar for four months on which to write in the units on the days you plan to teach.

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THE TEACHER SAYS: THE TEACHER WRITES The name of this letter is b. b It says b-uh. The name of this letter is a. a Its short sound is ă Blend b-uh and ă ba Now we’ll add the letter t that says t-uh. bat What is the word? (Pronounce it with the class.) CLASS: bat I’ll draw a picture of a bat. Johnny, if you have a ball, what do you do with the bat? JOHNNY: I hit the ball with the bat. Good, let’s sound out another word. b This word also starts with b that says b-uh. The next letter is a that says ă. a Blend b-uh and ă together to make bă ba Now we’ll add the letter g that says bag (hard sound of g) What is the word? (Pronounce the word bag with the class.) I’ll draw a picture of a bag. Mary, in what does you mother carry groceries home from the store? MARY: She carries them home in a bag.

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That’s fine. You have read two words this morning. Let’s sound another word b says buh b a says ă a Blend b-uh and ă to make bă. ba Now we’ll add d that says d-uh. bad The word is? Class? CLASS: bad Billy, a dog walked on mother’s clean floor with muddy paws. Was that good? BILLY: No it was bad. (NOTE: If Billy has a dog he will probably want to tell about something bad that he did. Point to – and pronounce – the new word whenever it is used.) Now we’ll start the next with another letter. c It’s name is c and it has more than one sound, but today we will learn only the hard sound: k-uh. You remember a; it says ă. a Blend k-uh and ă together to make ca. ca Now we’ll add the letter p that says p-uh. cap The word, class, is? CLASS: cap Donald, what do you wear on your head? DONALD: I wear a cap.

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Continue in this fashion. After you have Finished Unit 1, you need not try to teach all of the words in the longer units. Choose the words you think will be most interesting to the children. Stay on your schedule so that the work will be completed in about four months. It is important that each child has a turn making up a sentence. This is the “bait” that is used to hold the children’s attention. They will not realize that they are sounding out “lists of words” because they will be so intent in expressing their own thoughts as they incorporate the “key” words in sentences. If anyone is bashful or slow in responding, gently ask leading questions to draw the child out. Don’t be afraid to improvise. Talk about the “key” words as much as is needed. Then ask the child to tell you something about it even if, at first, the response consists only of a parrot version of your ideas. The children will soon have their own delightful, original sentences. Of course, our purpose is to encourage them to think of the meaning of the “key” words. A six-year old child’s verbal vocabulary is said to consist of 5,000 - 10,000 words or more. These lessons provide a means of exercising that vocabulary and developing a reading vocabulary at the same time.

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UNIT 1 SHORT SOUND OF a bat ham rat yak bag had ran tax bad jam rag wax can lap rap am cap lad sap an cab map sad at cat man Sam Ann dad mat tan lass fan nap tap mass fat pan tag pass gas pad van zag hat quack wag UNIT 2 SHORT SOUND OF i bib fix mill sip big hid miss sit bill hill mix six bin him nip Tim bit hit pig tin did if pill tip dig in pit vim dim it quick wig dip jig rib will fib kid rid win fig kill rig yip fill kiss rim zig-zag fin lid rip zip fit lip sin

UNIT 3

SHORT SOUND OF o

bob fog lot pot bog fox mob rob boss got mop rod box hod moss rot cob hog nod sob cot hop not sod dog hot off sop doll job on top Don log pod toss dot loss pop tot

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UNIT 4

SHORT SOUND OF u

but dug hug rub bun duck jug rug bug fun lug run bud fuss mud sum bus gum mug sun cup gun muff tub cub gull muss up cuff hum nut us cut hut pup Gus UNIT 5 SHORT SOUND OF e

bell hen pet web beg jet pen well bet let red vet bed leg set mess dell less sell keg den men ten yes fed met tell fell net Ted get peg wet UNIT 6

FINAL CONSONANT BLENDS ck, ft, lk lp, lt, mp, nd, nt, sk, st, ts, xt (Short sounds only of vowels)

band hand pump ck: bent hint pant bend jump quest duck belt just rest Jack best lend rust kick bump lent sent lock camp land send luck damp lamp silk neck desk hump next pick fast lift sand quick fist list tent quack felt lint test rock fond melt went sick fund must wind tack gift milk and tilt mist help gust mend its

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UNIT 7 CONSONANT DIGRAPH: sh cash hush shed shop dish wish shelf shot fish shall ship shut

UNIT 8

CONSONANT DIGRAPH: th (Voiced) than them this that then thus CONSONANT DIGRAPH: th (Unvoiced) thick thud bath thin thump with UNIT 9 CONSONANT DIGRAPH: ch, tch chat chum fetch witch chin much latch thatch chill rich match chick such notch ch: SOUNDS LIKE k: chop catch patch chip ditch pitch mechanic

UNIT 10 CONSONANT DIGRAPH: wh BLEND wa SOUNDS LIKE wŏ wha SOUNDS LIKE whŏ want watch when whip was wash which whisk water what whiff wish

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UNIT 11 ng (ang, ing, ong, ung) bang ding wing song gang ping-pong king hung hang ring thing lung rang sing gong rung sang thing-a-ling long sung UNIT 12 nk (ank, ink, onk, unk) bank link sink chunk bunk mink wink thank dunk pink tank honk kink rink sank think UNIT 13 INITIAL & FINAL CONSONANT BLENDS: bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sc, sk, sm, sl, sn, sp, st, sw blush fling slot spunk black flung slum spin block flit slap span blend flat slam spat bland flag slash spit bliss flock slip stuck blink fled sled stop clip flop smack still clap glad smelt stem click glass smug stand cliff gland smell stack clock scat smash step clink scan snip stub clank skin snob stab clinch skip snap stuff clench skid snug stiff cling skill snuff swim clang scuff snub swell club scum spun swam flash scotch spot swift flesh sketch spill switch flip scalp spell swing flap slush spank swept

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UNIT 14 INITIAL & FINAL CONSONANT BLENDS: br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, fr brag crunch frump grin brand crust fresh prank brass drag French press brim drank Fred prim brick drop frog print bring drum frock track branch drink grand trap brush dress grass trick crab drunk grasp trim crash drip grant trip cramp drug gruff trot crack Fran grog truck crib Frank grip trend crop frost grunt trust Unit 15 SHORT VOWEL COMPOUND WORDS. ashcan dishpan hilltop sandbag backstop dogsled Hobbit shipment bedrock dustpan hubcap sunspot napkin eggnog kidnap tiptop blacktop endless hotdog traffic bobcat filmstrip landmass trashcan cashbox flapjack laptop upland catfish gumdrop lesson sunset catnap handbag magnet sudden catnip handcuff Midland combat chestnut handstand nutmeg upon desktop helmet pocket wingspan

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UNIT 16 WHEN THE FINAL e IS SILENT, THE VOWEL IS USUALLY LONG (long vowel sound of vowel is the same as its name): ate tame bite tile rope bake tape dime tide sole cane blame dine wife stone cape flame dike wine scone cake plane fine wide spoke date stake fife slide slope daze glade dive size smoke fate snake file glide note fade chase five while tone gate safe hide white tote gaze paste hive drive those hate gave lime pride stole came case life prime mope haze fake like prize mole lake haste mine vote lame flake mite bone woke make save mile cone broke mane blaze nine cope drove made vase pike code probe mate taste pine dote late waste pile dole cube game brave quite dome duke wake brake kite globe dune name crate ride hole cute pale crave shine home tube quake craze side hope tune rate drape spike joke mule rake grape smile lone flute pane grade slime lode prune sake grave stile lope rule shame trade swine poke rude shake spine quote plume same here ripe rode brute take these time robe

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UNIT 17 PHONOGRAMS USING LONG VOWELS: old, olt, oll, ost, oth, ild, ind bold colt most blind old jolt post find cold molt host grind fold bolt hind gold volt both kind hold mind mold toll child rind sold roll mild wind told wild scold UNIT 18 SHORT WORDS ENDING IN A LONG VOWEL: be he she go so he we the no UNIT 19

PHONOGRAM: ar bar dark mark scar barn far mart star car farm park start chart hard part tar charm jar spark warm darn lark smart UNIT 20

PHONOGRAM: or

born fork porch torn cord fort scorn torch cork horn scorch morn corn horse storm morning for pork stork worn

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UNIT 21

PHONOGRAMS: er, ir, ur and sometimes or

clerk stir camper sitter fern third cutter starter jerk curb catcher swimmer her curl chopper sender herd burn dipper spinner term fur drummer better bird hurt helper never birth purr jumper after dirt urn marker under fir word farmer actor first world pitcher doctor girl work planner janitor sir worm runner visitor

UNIT 22

VOWEL DIGRAPHS: ai, ay

ail paid wail lay bail laid may brain pain bay pay fail rail clay pray gain rain day play grain sail gay ray jail tail gray say maid train hay sway mail wait jay way UNIT 23 VOWEL DIGRAPH: ee bee free need sleet beef freeze peep sweep beech fleet peek sweet beet green queen sheep deed greet reed wee deep heed see weed breeze heel seed week fee jeep seem weep feet keep seen feed keen sleep feel meet sleeve

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UNIT 24 VOWEL DIGRAPH: ea (three phonemes: long e, short e, and long a) beat each reach threat beach leaf read thread beast leap real tread bean leave wealth cream lean bread weather cheat meal breast cheap least breath steak deal sea dead beak dream seat death great feast tea health bear east teach instead eat clean read UNIT 25 VOWEL DIGRAPH: ie (two phonemes: long i and long e) cried lies tied priest cries lied tried relief dried pie believe dries pies brief thief fried spies chief yield lie tie grief belief field UNIT 26 FINAL VOWEL: y (Some dictionaries give it the sound of short i; others say long e. Take your choice.) Long i in one-syllable words. army handy sleepy fly candy hilly thirty my corky healthy twenty ply daddy fairy silly sly dolly fifty wealthy try dusty messy pretty sky funny penny shy gummy puppy by why party rainy cry myself happy sunny dry

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UNIT 27 VOWEL DIGRAPH: oa, oe, (like long o) boat load roast Joe boast loaf soapy toe coat road toes coach soap foe woe coast soak goes goat toad hoe float throat hoed UNIT 28 DIGRAPH: ow (like long o) DIPHTHONG: ow bow tow yellow gown bowl throw own growl blow show how crow shown bow howl glow snow cow power grow fellow crowd powder grown follow clown row growth hollow crown now flow pillow brown town low shadow down row window frown slow willow flower UNIT 29 DIPHTHONG: ou DIGRAPH: ou (Often irregular; it can sound like short u, short oo, long oo, short o, etc.) cloud mound round you found out sound country ground our shout young house mouse scout soul loud pound four

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UNIT 30 DIPHTHONGS: oy, oi boy toys coin point boys oyster boil soil joy oysters coin spoil joys join toil toy joint going UNIT 31 LONG SOUND OF oo boot moon stoop foolish booth roof spoon smooth bloom loose spool teaspoon coo room shoot noonday cool proof too toothbrush boost mood tool scooter droop gloom tooth papoose food noon troop tooting groom soon coolness school goose roost zoo doom stool cooler UNIT 32 SHORT SOUND of oo book good hood shook booklet foot look wool cook footstep looking wood crook goodness soot wooden brook hoof took woolen cooker hook stood footstool UNIT 33 VOWEL DIGRAPHS: aw, au crawl hawk shawl faun crawling jaw thaw haul dawn law yawn fault draw lawn pause drawn paw cause fawn saw clause

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UNIT 34 PHONOGRAMS: al, all already bald salt mall almost false ball tall always halt call wall also malt fall UNIT 35 DIGRAPHS: ew, ue blew flew news flue brew threw pew glue chew dew stew true crew few due drew mew blue hue grew new clue Sue UNIT 36 UNACCENTED a AT THE BEGINNING OF A WORD. ALSO THE WORD a WHEN NOT USED FOR EMPHASIS: a ajar around asleep about alike arouse astir adrift ahead apart awake afar amuse aside awhile UNIT 37 PHONOGRAMS: ul, ull, ush (u SOUNDS LIKE SHORT oo) careful full fullback put pull push full moon bull bush fulfill

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UNIT 38 SOFT SOUND OF c (before e, i and y) Usually sounds like s: sometimes sh. cent brace mice rice cell chance nice space cease decide niece slice center dance pace spice civil dunce place since cinder face peace twice cyclone fleece piece trace circus fence prance thence cinch France prince choice cigar hence princess voice acid ice pencil cistern lace price special ace mince race UNIT 39 SOFT SOUND OF g IN dge AND SOMETIMES BEFORE e, i and y. age page badge ridge barge plunge dodge smudge change rage edge wedge cage range fudge ginger engage sage hedge giraffe fringe stage lodge gist huge wage nudge giblet large urge pledge gyp lunge budge ledge gypsy hinge bridge judge gymnast UNIT 40 SILENT gh AND gh SOUNDS LIKE f bright might thigh caught rough blight night right daughter tough fight moonlight taught laugh fighter plight laughter flight sigh laughing high tight light slight (In the above words, au and ou are irregular.)

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UNIT 41 SILENT k, w, t, b l, h knee chasten wrist lamb hour kneel glisten wring limb honor knelt hasten wrote thumb honest knight listen wreck ghost knife often wrong calf knit soften half knot comb walk know wreath climb known wretch debt answer knock write doubt sword dumb UNIT 42 se SOUNDS LIKE z choose nose rise is chose pause tease has cheese pose these his ease praise those use because please wise noise rose as UNIT 43 ph SOUNDS LIKE f elephant prophet phonograph telegraph nephew pamphlet phone alphabet orphan photograph telephone phonics UNIT 44 FINAL le, tion, sion battle handle attention partition bundle puzzle action portion bottle scramble addition station buckle scribble affection section circle sprinkle invitation little struggle foundation expression middle tickle education impression pickle wiggle mention mission sample nation

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UNIT 45 ed WITH SHORT e added ended painted waited acted folded planted counted landed printed crowded lighted rested ed SOUNDS LIKE ‘d aimed changed saved stayed burned filled rained turned called named rolled ed SOUNDS LIKE t baked picked looked wished boxed hoped packed camped jumped pitched hitched liked stopped UNIT 46 Long Vowels in Open Syllables baker racer pony mural shady fever holy rural lady cedar over tyro paper hero clover tyrant caper legal donor taper regal solar dial favor before polar giant savor tidy sober trial vapor limy local friar wafer slimy focal pliant maker viper vocal vial taker biter total nasal libel oval poem fatal cider grocer brier natal spider oral label tiger open cruel halo vital tulip duel sago final Lucy fuel pacer bony pupil gruel

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UNIT 47 37 Dolch List Service Words with “other” speech sound correspondences, plus three word with the /zh/ sound of treasure. do come again only where measure to done said are were pleasure today does carry every treasure together some could eight been two one would have buy who once give don’t into of any their your from many they very

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CONSONANTS and VOWELS A SUMMARY of PHONETIC SOUNDS

Our alphabet has 26 letters. Each letter has one name and one or more sounds. ____________________________________________________________________________

The consonants are all the letters, except a, e, i, o, u. Consonants: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s , t, v, w, y, z. Vowels: a, e, i, o, u and sometimes y (which is sometimes a vowel and sometimes a consonants.) ____________________________________________________________________________

Most single consonants have only one sound. Example: the “b” sound you hear in “baby” Exceptions: “c” has a hard sound “k” (as in “cat”) and a soft sound “s” when followed by e, i, or y (as in “cent, city fancy”) “g” has a hard sound “g” (as in “go”) and sometimes a soft sound “j” when followed by e, i, or y (as in “age, ginger, gym”) ______________________________________________________________________________

In a consonant blend you hear the sounds of two or three consonants blended together. Example: Single consonant rap Consonant blend with two consonants trap Consonant blends with three consonants strap ______________________________________________________________________________

In a consonant digraph you do not hear the separate sounds of the consonants, but you do hear a new sound. (Most of the consonant digraphs are a consonant followed by an “h”) Example: ch – church th – that ph – phone sh – shop wh – when gh – laugh ______________________________________________________________________________

Some letters are silent that is do not have any sound in the word. Example: Silent consonant “b” – comb. Silent vowel “e” – date. ______________________________________________________________________________

Every word has one or more syllables. A syllable is a “beat” in the word. This symbol ΄ means the syllable is accented, or has the heavy beat. Example: un΄der be gin΄ in for ma΄ tion Every syllable has a vowel sound. The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y. (“y” is usually a consonant when it is the first letter in the word, as in “yes,” but a vowel when it is in the middle or at the end of, as in “gym” or “my”)

Each vowel has several different sounds, depending on how it is used in the word. ______________________________________________________________________________

A single vowel usually has the short sound ( ˇ ) Example: ădd, ĕxit, ĭt, ŏn, ǔp

A single vowel may have the long sound ( ˉ means long). Example: dāte, mē, Ī, gō, ūses

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A closed syllable ends in a consonant, and the vowel sound is short. Example: gŏt An open syllable ends in a vowel, and the vowel sound is long. Example: gō ______________________________________________________________________________

Silent “e” as the end of the word usually makes the vowel before it long. Example: āte, Pēte, rīde, hōpe, tŭbe ______________________________________________________________________________

Often when two vowels come together, the first one is long and the second one is silent. (The second vowel “works on” the first vowel to make it long.) Example: ēe – trēe āi – rāin īe – pīe ōa – rōad ūe – blūe ēa – ēat āy – dāy ōe – Jōe ūi – sūit ______________________________________________________________________________

Two vowels together may give a different sound than those made by the single letter. They are digraphs if they have a single sound. Example: o͞o – moon o͝o –book au – Paul

They are diphthongs when two sounds slide together to make a continuous unit of sound. Example: oi – oil oy – boy ou – out ______________________________________________________________________________

Other vowel sounds can be made with a vowel followed by an “r.” Example: ar – car or – for er – her ir – bird ur – turn ______________________________________________________________________________

Or vowel sounds can be made with a vowel followed by a “w.” Example: aw – saw ow – cow ew – new ow – slow (“r” and “w” are “vowel helpers” in the above examples.) ______________________________________________________________________________ The symbol “ə” stands for the schwa sound, which is the sound of the unaccented short “u.”

Any one of the vowels (a, e, i, o, u) can take the schwa sound. Example: about, elephant, politics, ebony, crocus ______________________________________________________________________________

Other common letter combinations using the vowels are: ǎng – săng ǎnk – bănk all – ball ōlt – bōlt īnd – fīnd ǐng – sĭng ǐnk – pǐnk alt – salt ōll – rōll īld – chīld ŏng – sŏng ŏnk – hŏnk alk – walk ōld - cōld ǔng – sŭng ǔnk – jŭnk ______________________________________________________________________________

ti, si, ci can say “sh” Example: nation, tension, special

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HAZEL LOGAN LORING (1902-1983)

Born in Massachusetts in 1902, Hazel Loring viewed the recent history of reading instruction from the unique perspective of one who taught under both the phonics and the “whole word” method. After attending what is now the University of Massachusetts for two years, she had her first experience teaching phonics in 1923-24. While raising a family of three children, she maintained a keen interest in reading problems and later returned to the teaching profession. Mrs. Loring earned her B.S. in Education from Wayne State University, received her Michigan State Permanent Elementary Certificate, and taught a first grade classroom in Oscoda, Michigan for ten years from 1960 to 1970. As a retired teacher she joined the Reading Reform Foundation and served as its Michigan Chairman. She was a member of the NRTA and a Retired Member of the NEA. The original edition contained this acknowledgement: For their encouragement and assistance, grateful acknowledgement is made to Mrs. Raymond Rubicam and Ralph W. Lewis, Professor Emeritus, Department of Natural Science, Michigan State University.

First Printing – January, 1982

Second Printing – February, 1983 Third Printing – July, 1983

The original edition carried the following permission for reproduction:

Unlimited reproduction for solely educational

purposes is encouraged. However, reproduction for profit may not be made of any part of this publication.

For historical interest, we will include the following note to teachers from the original edition:

To the Teacher You are one of the first to receive this booklet outlining a practical and inexpensive way to add blend phonics to your present reading instruction. We hope to continue – and expand – non-profit distribution of this method to other teachers in the near future. Your comments on your experiences with the method will be invaluable to us in our efforts. Replies will be treated confidentially if you request. Send your comments to the address below, and than you for your cooperation.

Logan Institute for Educational Excellence 6197 Livernois Avenue Troy, Michigan 48098

Of course, the above information is dated, and the address is no longer valid. This edition was prepared by Donald L. Potter on May 28, 2003 for free distribution on the Internet. The inexpensive Create Space paperback edition was created by Mr. Potter to further encourage wide use of the program in English speaking schools.

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Robert W. Sweet, Jr. Co-Founder and Former President of The National Right to Read Foundation wrote this stirring recommendation for Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics, in his 1997 article, “The Century of Miseducation of American Teachers:” “An effective answer to illiteracy … Let me offer a less costly, and more effective answer. I have here a twenty-five-page booklet called Blend Phonics written by Hazel Loring, a master teacher born in 1902, who taught under both the “whole word” and phonics systems. The legacy she has left us is powerful. Within the pages of this little booklet is the cure of illiteracy as we begin the twenty-first century. … If every pre-service reading teacher, every reading supervisor, every kindergarten, first- and second-grade teacher in America had the information contained in Hazel Loring’s 25-page booklet and taught it this fall, there would be such a dramatic decrease in illiteracy in this country that the national media would be forced to take note.”

Note from Internet Publisher – Donald L. Potter

Retired Elementary Bilingual and Junior High Spanish Teacher for the Ector County ISD, Odessa, TX.

Now Spanish and Remedial Reading Teacher for the Odessa Christian School November 6, 2005, January 2, 2007

(Revised 8/30/08, 2/17/10, 12/29/11, 2/21/12, 4/24/12, 1/9/13, 6/28/2015)

I first learned of Loring’s pamphlet from the 1996 article mentioned above by Robert W. Sweet. I immediately got a copy of Loring’s Blend Phonics from the Interlibrary Loan. I was so impressed that I retyped it for Internet publication on May 28, 2003. Later Mr. Charlie Richardson sent me a copy along with his excellent instructional article, “The Alphabet Code & How It Works” which I republished and provided with an mp3 audio instruction file. There is also a “Table of Contents” at the end of this document. I am delighted to report that the document has received many thousands of hits since I first published it on the Internet. It is my earnest prayer that every pre-service reading teacher, every reading supervisor, and every kindergarten, first- and second-grade teacher in America will receive the information contained in Hazel Loring’s 25-page booklet and apply its message so that there will be such a dramatic decrease in illiteracy in this country that the national media will be forced to take note. I use Blend Phonics extensively in my private tutoring practice. I have the students spell the words orally in each Unit after I have taught them to sound out the words with Loring’s blend phonics technique. I also have them write all the words in cursive in a wide lined notebook. Manuscript will also work fine.

Students of all ages can learn to read with Loring’s Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics for First Grade. Her daughter Pat Lent used it to teach adult education students to read. I have used it to teach a 41-year-old man who could not read and numerous other students in elementary and secondary grades. The title merely indicates the ideal time to teach phonics-first. I have also published several supplemental aids for Blend Phonics: Don Potter’s Blend Phonics Lessons and Stories, Blend Phonics Blend Phonics Timed Fluency Drills, Beyond Blend Phonics: English Morphology Made Easy, Blend Phonics Lessons and Stories: Cursive Edition. These are all available for FREE at www.donpotter.net. I have a YouTube video explaining how to teach Blend Phonics. All these books are also available now in inexpensive paperback from Amazon or Barns and Noble.

I have republished two articles by Mrs. Loring on the following pages that will be of considerable interest to those interested in the history of good phonics instruction America. I first copied Blend Phonics from an Interlibrary Loan copy on 5/17/1999. The words in Unit 13 were reordered on 2/17/10. Slight revision to words 2/20/12. Unit 46 was added on 2/23/12. There are 1,614 words in Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics. Last revision 5/23/17.

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Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics for All Ages by Mrs. Hazel Logan Loring

Table of Contents

Step One: Short Vowels and Consonants Unit 1. Short sound of a b c d f g h j k l m n p qu r s t v w x y z ck Unit 2. Short sound of i Unit 3. Short sound of o Unit 4. Short sound of u Unit 5. Short sound of e

Step Two: Consonant Blends and Digraphs

Unit 6. Final consonant blends: (ck) ft, lk, lp, lt mp, nd, nt, sk, st, ts, xt. Unit 7. Consonant Digraph: sh Unit 8. Consonant Digraph (Voiced): th

Consonant Digraph (Unvoiced): th Unit 9. Consonant Digraph: ch, tch (ch sounds like k) Unit 10. Consonant Digraph: wh Unit 11. ng (ang, ing, ong, ung) Unit 12. nk (ank, ink, onk,, unk) Unit 13. Initial & Final Consonant Blends: bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sc, sk, sm, sl, sn, sp, st, sw Unit 14. Initial & Final Consonant Blends: br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr Unit 15. Short Vowel Compound Words

Step Three: Long Vowels (VCE) Unit 16. When the final e is silent, the vowel is usually long (long sound of vowel is the same as its name) Unit 17. Phonograms using long vowels: old, olt, oll, ost, oth, ild, ind Unit 18. Short words ending in a long vowel: be, go, he, me, no, so, she, we

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Step Four: R-Controlled Vowels

Unit 19. Phonogram: ar Unit 20: Phonogram: or Unit 21: Phonograms: er, ir, ur and sometimes or

Step Five: Vowel Digraphs and Diphthongs

Unit 22. Vowel Digraph: ai, ay Unit 23. Vowel Digraph: ee Unit 24: Vowel Digraph: ea (three phonemes: long e, short e, long a) Unit 25: Vowel Digraph: ie (two phonemes: long i and long e) Unit 26. Final Vowel y: sound e. Long i in one syllable words. Unit 27. Vowel Digraph: oa, oe (like long o) Unit 28. Digraph ow. Diphthong: ow Unit 29. Diphthong ou: Digraph ou (Often irregular; it can sound like short u, short oo, long oo, long o, etc.) Unit 30. Diphthongs: oy, oi Unit 31. Long sound of oo Unit 32. Short sound of oo Unit 33. Vowel Digraphs: aw, au Unit 34. Phonograms: al, all Unit 35. Digraphs: ew, ue

Step Six: Advanced Spelling Patterns

Unit 36. Unaccented a at the beginning of a word. Also the word a when not used for emphasis. Unit 37. Phonograms: ul, ull, ush (u sound like short oo) Unit 38. Soft sound of c (before e, i, and y) Usually sounds like s: sometimes like sh. Unit 39. Soft sound of g in dge and sometimes before e, i, and y. Unit 40. Silent gh and gh sounds like f. Unit 41. Silent k, w, t, b, and l Unit 42. se sounds like z Unit 43. ph sounds like f Unit 44. Final le, tion, sion Unit 45. ed with short e; ed sounds like ‘d, ed sounds like ‘t Unit 46. Long vowels in open syllables Unit 47. 37 Dolch List Words with Other Sounds and Two /zh/ Words.

The Table of Contents was prepared by Donald Potter on June 2003 (slight revision 1/17/05), Odessa, TX. Further revisions 7/16/05. Unit 46 added by Donald Potter 2/23/12. Revised 5/23/2017

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Says a retired campaigner:

Intensive phonics is the only way to go

By Mrs. Hazel Loring

I am a retired teacher, 76 years old, who taught the genuine old-fashioned phonics using New Beacon Charts, flashcards, and readers in the early 1920s. I left the profession to raise a family but maintained a lively interest in methods of teaching beginners’ reading, particularly when I learned of problems encountered by my neighbor’s children who were being exposed to the recognition system in school. It was in the early 1950s that I began to think seriously of the possible causes of reading failure. Following discussion about eye phenomena with a friend, Dr. J.A.J Hall, an ophthalmologist, I put my ideas in a little manuscript entitled “Monocular Intervals in Binocular Vision and Their Relationship to Reading Disability.” Dr. Hall had the paper read at a regular meeting of the Detroit Ophthalmology Society, and he sent it to a committee on vision whose membership he described as international. My project lost its sponsor when Dr. Hall died of a heart attack. I had had only two years of college training and no prestige or academic standing. You can imagine the opposition my ideas encountered from the powerful anti-phonics people in education. I had enrolled in Wayne State University but as a cliff-hanging encounter with cancer prevented me from completing my work for a degree. Amazingly, I recovered and had an opportunity to teach first grade at Oscoda, Mich., on a Special Certificate. I taught first grade for 10 years and, with summer, night and correspondence courses – and at age 61 – I received my Bachelor’s degree and later my Michigan Permanent Teaching Certificate. All of my teaching experience has confirmed my belief that directional guidance, inherent in the blend phonics system, is the key to success in teaching reading. In my first years at Oscoda a sudden influx of personnel at nearby Wurthsmith Air Force Base resulted in over-crowding of the schools and we had more than 40 first-graders in a room. This, together with the fact that I used phonics cautiously in a limited way, resulted in only fair success. As class sizes were reduced to the low 30s and I felt free to give the children intensive phonics training, the results were very gratifying. Only “recognition” textbooks were available (Houghton, Mifflin series), but I spent at least a half hour daily in formal phonics training, which I implemented in all reading classes. At first I used the chalkboard for phonics instruction, but when I came across an overhead projector that was not being used, I found it to be an ideal phonics-teaching tool. Three days before my retirement, I went into the school storeroom and took a set of first reader books which my children had never seen before. Each child stood in front of the class and read a full page. Only one little girl needed help, and that with just a couple words. The others read fluently, without error. Of course most of them had been reading supplementary library materials far beyond first grade.

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About 10 years ago my daughter, Pat Lent, asked me to teach her how to teach phonics, and she then volunteered as a teacher at an Urban Adult Education Institute in Detroit. For the first eight years she taught as a volunteer, but her work has been so successful that she is now a paid teacher. It was Pat who told enthusiastically of the Reading Reform Foundation and urged me to write to you: “Mom, they are saying the very same things that you have been talking about all these years!” Well, now I am retired and putter around with my garden and photography, but perhaps you may be interested in the experiences of a phonics believer of more than 50 years. You quote Janette Moss as saying she cannot understand how it became possible to make money more easily and quickly with an ineffective technique than with an effective technique (see RRF Conference Report, October, 1978). It is like an unbelievable nightmare, but I saw it happen. The fanaticism of the Gestaltist cult, bolstered by self-righteousness, left no room for reason or objective evaluation. A science education professor from a large Eastern University, after reading my manuscript, told me, “They won’t get you on this (pointing to my paper); they’ll get you on something else.” Anyone who opposes the look-say method could expect to be blacklisted. I felt I was a member of an endangered species at Wayne State, but they didn’t “get” me. My first bout with cancer took me 200 miles away where teachers were scarce and results counted more than methodology. There is no question that Gestaltists played rough, and the conflict of interest of policy-makers in Education was a disgrace. The very people who raked in royalties as authors or editors of textbooks were the very same people who dictated reading methods and selected textbooks. Theirs, of course. “Publish or perish” may be acceptable if the publication is restricted to non-profit professional journals, but it is an ugly situation when educational concepts are dictated, not by a search for truth in a spirit of academic freedom but by the edicts of publishers and the amount of royalties that will accrue to faculty members who use their university prestige for commercial purposes. I realize that decent, well-intentioned educators who felt the need to augment their limited salaries were caught in the web – “everybody” was doing it. But it was wrong. Congratulations to the Reading Reform Foundation on your campaign to restore common sense teaching in the schools. Your forthright stance is courageous and admirable. The opposition you encounter is entrenched and formidable, but you are right, and you will win out. I’m a humble person, far from affluent, and I sometimes wonder for what purpose I have survived my on-going fight against cancer, but is feels mighty good to be able to cheer you on in your good work against the legacy of illiteracy that has been bequeathed to our children by the self-anointed, highly organized, cultist Gestaltists whose bullying tactics have dominated the reading scene for more than 50 years.

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Another Letter from Hazel Logan Loring in the Same Publication [Hod’s Podge]

We were delighted to get a letter from Mrs. Hazel Loring of Birmingham, Mich., and to be able to share with you in these pages. Just before we went to press, we received a second letter; one, which we believe, raises an excellent point for further discussion. Speaking of a RRF publication, The Reading Crisis, Mrs. Loring says, in part: “It mentions that Dr. Jean S. Chall in her very fine book, Learning to Read: The Great Debate, divides reading methods into two groups: the ‘code-emphasis’ group and the ‘meaning-emphasis’ group. This could lead to the false assumption that intensive phonics fails to emphasize meaning. “I know that in the past, anti-phonics people like to create the impression that they alone taught comprehension and that the intensive phonics method failed to do so. I question if one can ‘teach comprehension,’ but surely it is possible to create a situation where the exercise of comprehension is encouraged. I suppose that conceivably, a child could be taught to read lists of words without comprehension of their meaning…but that is not the way I taught my first-graders, and I doubt if it is a common practice…” Mrs. Loring concluded her letter: “Because in years past I have heard so many claims by look-say people in regard to their ability to teach comprehension, when, in fact, in many cases they fail to even teach reading, I simply had to unburden myself.” “With the kindest regards and cheers for the work you are doing…” “I must dispute Mrs. Loring on that last sentence. With her first letter to the RRF, she sent a very nice financial contribution, it’s “we” not “you,” Mrs. Loring. Note: G. K. Hodenfield was the editor of this issue of The Reading Informer. [Hodenfield was “Associated Press National Education Writer before getting angry because he couldn’t write what he wanted to about what he was learning about the reading problem and its cause. He quit and went to work at Indiana University.” He co-authored, with Kathryn Diehl, Johnny STILL Can’t Read But You Can Teach Him at Home, AP, 1976. (Per. letter from Kathryn Diehl, 2/15/06.)]

Note from Internet Publisher – Donald L. Potter Concerning Loring’s articles

January 25, 2006 The above articles by Mrs. Hazel Loring were published in The Reading Informer, Volume 6, Number 3 – February, 1979. The Reading Informer a publication of the Reading Reform Foundation. Their motto was: OUR SOLE AIM: TO RESTORE INTENSIVE PHONICS TO THE TEACHING OF READING THROUGHOUT THE NATION. A special word of thanks goes to Mrs. Kathy Diehl, former Research Director for the Reading Reform Foundation, for sending me a box of The Reading Informer magazines and her book, Johnny Still Can’t Read But You Can Teach Him at Home. These articles by Loring were added to this Online edition of Hazel Loring’s Reading Made Easy With Blend Phonics for First Grade on February 3, 2007.

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Article by Kathryn Diehl on Loring’s Blend Phonics The Barbara M. Morris Report

May 1983

The Detroit Free Press (2/13/83) printed a long featured article, “A Sound Road To Reading.” As far as anyone knows, this is the first time the facts about good teaching reading ability have been printed in the Detroit news media. The article was about Hazel Loring, an elderly retired teacher, and her little booklet for teachers, “Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics for the First-Grade.” This was sent free to 5000 Michigan first-grade teachers last year. The article quotes admiring teachers who determinedly use this phonics method, saying their basal reading series “doesn’t teach enough phonics” or they are “disgusted” with the failure it produces. The Loring title alone is revealing to most teachers. Mrs. Loring began teaching before the sight word books were printed, and then watched the old standard phonics method forced out of the schools. “It was like a swarm of locust descending on the schools from coast to coast, and soon phonics was taboo.” She went right on teaching it secretly, of course. “Blend phonics” is a very helpful term, to try to combat the false theory that the big basal series today teach through phonics. For what they do not do is teach the children to use the letters sounds by blending them from left to right to figure out the printed words. Some big publishers have even stolen the term “intensive phonics” (coined years ago by Sr. Monica Foltzer to describe her real phonics method), and apply it to their skimpy “phonics.” If we begin to call for “blend phonics” methods, they’ll have a harder time to invent an Orwellian “redefinition” of that specific term, since blending and sounding out words is the essential thing they carefully avoid teaching. It is also necessary to show many teachers that “first grade” is the time to teach children independent reading through phonics, not spread out over three years and more, as they’ve been trained. ANYONE CAN ARRANGE TO PRINT MRS. LORING’S BOOKLET AND DISTRIBUTE IT, AS LONG AS IT ISN’T SOLD. She refuses to sell them, considering that the big money that changes hands in the sales of the sight word basal programs is the corrupting reason they remain a virtual monopoly in the schools. She would “die happy,” if every first grade teacher had a free copy of her booklet, to help them make up for the flaws in the programs most must use. An organization or group of businessmen frightened about the effect of illiteracy on the U.S. economy could contact Mrs. Loring to ask approval to print it – as long as they do not sell, but give them to teachers. They would have to bypass the curriculum and reading supervisors, and school superintendents, in many districts, sending the booklets directly to the teachers to ensure they receive them. A couple of million copies of this tiny treasure, in the hands of every K-12 teacher in the schools, would bring about a revival of grassroots literacy within a year. Many teachers at last would understand why their school’s adopted commercial programs produce poor reading, and what to do about it.

____________________ I appreciate Mrs. Diehl for sending me the above article. Her idea of printing a “couple million copies of this tiny treasure” may seem a bit ambitious. Nevertheless, with its publication as a free e-book on my web site, www.donpotter.net, there is nothing to prevent it from reaching every classroom in America, or even the entire English-speaking world. This page last edited: 2/18/06.

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The following is the cover letter that was included with each copy of Hazel Loring’s booklet sent free of charge to more than 5,000 Michigan teachers. (Reading Informer, March 1982)

Dear First Grade Teacher: This booklet is sent to you free of charge by the non-profit Logan Institute for Educational Excellence, thanks to the generous contribution of Mrs. Raymond Rubicam, who has unselfishly devoted many years to the purpose of improving the teaching of reading and of combating illiteracy. It was Mrs. Rubicam who inspired me to write about my work in teaching reading to a first grade classroom. When Dr. Ralph W. Lewis read my description of the method that I had used, he commented that we should find some way to get it into the hands of every first grade teacher in Michigan. And here it is. Please read the little booklet and try it out. It will take very little time and cost nothing. Simply allot half an hour each day for about four months in which to teach blend phonics to your children and thus provide them the important ingredient that too often is missing from reading programs, namely, directional training. Except for this half hour, use materials of your choice, as you ordinarily would do. There is no need to disrupt the program to which you are accustomed though, of course, I am sure you will find it useful to utilize blend phonics techniques while attacking new words in oral reading, spelling, and writing. Your own judgment will dictate to what extent you make use of this tool during the school day. Please try it. It can make all the difference for those children who might otherwise fail. I found this to be true in my classes. With best wishes for a successful school year.

Sincerely, (signed)

Hazel Logan Loring

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I received the encouraging letter below on May 15, 2015 from one of Hazel Loring’s former students. It is a living monument to Mrs. Loring’s stature as a teacher and an enduring testimony to the her highly effective Blend Phonics method. Hello, My name is Cheryl McNarie Stackhouse and I was one of those “Wurtsmith AFB” children that overwhelmed the Oscoda, Michigan school system in the mid 1960’s. The most wonderful thing for me was having Mrs. Hazel Loring as my first grade teacher. Two nights ago on a whim, I googled her name. Her booklet on phonics and your video on YouTube concerning her work intrigued me immensely. She was (as I'm sure you can imagine) my most beloved teacher. She was, to say the least, my reason for loving reading and learning in general. (She taught me in either 1967 or 1968). I distinctly remember her teaching me phonics. I remember learning “ph” made an /f/ sound...and so on... She had the ability to project her faith in each of us and build our confidence by doing so. Her contribution to phonics although great, will never overshadow her overall contribution to each and every one of us who were lucky enough to enter her hallowed classroom. She was amazing. I distinctly remember going to school every day conscientious, never wanting to disappoint her. She was without a doubt the teacher that instilled my love of learning. I loved her like my own grandmother. She taught with care, concern and pure delight. I am forever blessed for having had her light shine upon me! Sincerely - with great affection, Cheryl McNarie-Stackhouse

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Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics

Unit Progress Chart

Student: ____________________ Teacher ___________________ Start Date __________________ Finish Date _______________

Unit 1 Step 1

Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 Unit 5 Unit 6 Step 2

Unit 7

Unit 8

Unit 9 Unit 10 Unit 11 Unit 12 Unit 13 Unit 14

Unit 15

Unit 16 Step 3

Unit 17

Unit 18

Unit 19 Step 4

Unit 20

Unit 21

Unit 22 Step 5

Unit 23

Unit 24 Unit 25

Unit 26 Unit 27 Unit 28

Unit 29

Unit 30 Unit 31 Unit 32 Unit 33 Unit 34 Unit 35

Unit 36 Step 6

Unit 37

Unit 38 Unit 39 Unit 40 Unit 41 Unit 42

Unit 43 Unit 44

Unit 45 Unit 46 Unit 47

Created by Donald L. Potter, 9/30/2007, Revised 5/23/2017 (www.donpotter.net)

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Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics

Unit Progress Chart with Skills Student: ____________________ Teacher ___________________ Start Date __________________ Finish Date _______________

Unit 1 Step 1

ă b c d f g h j k l m p qr r s t v w y z ck

Unit 2 ĭ

Unit 3 ŏ

Unit 4 ŭ

Unit 5 ĕ

Unit 6 Step 2

End C. Blends

Unit 7 sh

Unit 8 th th

Unit 9 ch, tch

Unit 10 wh

Unit 11 Ng

Unit 12 Nk

Unit 13 Beg. C. Blends

Unit 14 Beg. C. Blends

Unit 15 SV Cmpd.

Words

Unit 16| Step 3 VCE

Unit 17 LV: old, etc.

Unit 18| LV Short

Words

Unit 19 Step 4

ar

Unit 20 or

Unit 21 er/ir/ur/or

Unit 22 Step 5 ai/ay

Unit 23 ee

Unit 24 ea

Unit 25 ie

Unit 26 y=ī, --y=ē

Unit 27 - oa/oe

Unit 28 ōw/ow

Unit 29 ou

Unit 30 oy/oi

Unit 31 Long oo

Unit 32 Short oo

Unit 33 aw/au

Unit 34 al/all

Unit 35 ew/eu

Unit 36 Step 6 a = ŭ

Unit 37 ul/ull/ush =

short oo

Unit 38 Soft c & s = ch

Unit 39 Soft g, dge

Unit 40 gh

Unit 41 Silent k w t b

Unit 42 se - /z/

Unit 43 Silent gh ph/gh=f

Unit 44 le, tion, sion

Unit 45 ed

Unit 46 Long Vowel in Open Syllables

Unit 47 37 Dolch Words + 3 /zh/ Words

Created by Donald L. Potter, 9/30/07. Skills added 2/18/12. Revised 5/23/2017 (www.donpotter.net)

41

Blend Phonics Reader Skills Ladder

Step Unit Association # of Words

Step 6 Advanced Spellings

Open Syllables 37 Dolch Words

47 37 Dolch List words and 3 /zh/ words 40 46 Long Vowels in Open syllables 73 45 ed with short e; ed sounds like ‘d; ed sounds like ‘t 37 44 Final le, tion, sion 33 43 ph sounds like f 12 42 se sounds like z 22 41 Silent k, w, t, b, l, and h 41 40 Silent gh (igh, ough/augh), and gh like f 24 39 Soft sound of g in dge & sometimes before e, i, y. 40 38 Soft sound of c (before e, i, & y); s like sh (sugar) 50 37 Phonograms: ul, ull, ush (u sound like short oo) 10 36 Unaccented a at beginning of words & a 16

Step 5 Vowel

Digraphs & Diphthongs

35 Diagraphs ew, ue 23 34 Phonograms: al, all 15 33 Vowel Digraphs aw, au 21 32 Short sound of oo 24 31 Long sound of oo 42 30 Diphthong: oy, oi 18 29 Diphthong ou; Digraph ōu, often Irregular 19 28 Digraph: ōw, Diphthong: ow 44 27 Vowel Digraph: oa, oe (like long ō) 24 26 Final Vowel y (ē); Long ī in single syllable words 38 25 Vowel Digraph ie (long ī and long ē) 24 24 Vowel Digraph ea (long ē, short ĕ, long ā) 44 23 Vowel Digraph: ee 41 22 Vowel Digraph: ai, ay 35

Step 4 R-Contr. Vowels

21 Phonogram er, ir, ur, and sometimes or 52 20 Phonogram: or 20 19 Phonogram: ar 23

Step 3 Long Vowels

(VCE)

18 Short words ending in long vowels: be, go, he, me, etc. 9 17 Phonograms - Long Vowels: old, olt, oll, ost,, oth, ild, ind 32 16 VCE (long vowels) 166

Step 2 Consonant Blends

& Digraphs & Compound Words

15 Short Vowel Compound Words 48 14 Initial Consonant Blends: br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr 56 13 Initial Consonant Blends: bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sc, sk, sm, sl, sn, sp, st, sw 92 12 nk (ank, ink, onk, unk) 16 11 ng (ang, ing, ong, ung) 20 10 Consonant Digraph: wh 12 9 Consonant Digraphs: ch, tch (ch = k) 21 8 Consonant Digraphs: th (voiced); th (unvoiced) 12 7 Consonant Digraph: sh 12 6 Final Consonant Blends 63

Step 1 Short Vowels &

Consonants

5 Short vowel ĕ 33 4 Short vowel ŭ 36 3 Short vowel ŏ 40 2 Short vowel ĭ 55 1 Short vowel ă b c d f g h j k l m n p qu r s t v w y z ck 47

There are 1,974 words in the program.

42

Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics

Phonovisual Charts Correlation

Unit 1 Step 1

All single letter consonants &

ck short a (cat)

Unit 2 Short ĭ (fish)

Unit 3 Short ŏ (top)

Unit 4 Short ŭ (duck)

Unit 5 Short ĕ (bed)

Unit 6 Step 2

End C. Blends No new sounds

Unit 7 sh

(ship)

Unit 8 th th

(3 & this)

Unit 9 ch, tch

(cherry)

Unit 10 wh

(wheel)

Unit 11 ng

(swing)

Unit 12 nk

(swing)

Unit 13 Beg. C. Blends No new sounds

Unit 14 Beg. C. Blends No new sounds

Unit 15 Compound SV Words

Unit 16 Step 3 VCE

(cake, tree, 5, rose, mule)

Unit 17 old, etc.

(rose & 5)

Unit 18 be, go, etc

(rose & tree)

Unit 19 Step 4

ar (car)

Unit 20 or

(fork)

Unit 21 er/ir/ur/or

(fur)

Unit 22 Step 5 ai/ay

(cake)

Unit 23 ee

(tree)

Unit 24 - ea

(tree, bed, cake)

Unit 25 ie

(five & tree)

Unit 26 -y = ē (ĭ)

(tree)

Unit 27 oa, oe (rose)

Unit 28 ōw, ow

(rose, cow)

Unit 29 ou, ōu

(cow, rose)

Unit 30 oy/oi (boy)

Unit 31 Long oo (moon

Unit 32 Short oo (book)

Unit 33 aw/au (saw)

Unit 34 al/all (saw)

Unit 35 ew/eu (mule)

Unit 36 Step 6 a = ŭ

(duck)

Unit 37 ul/ull/ush =

Short oo (book)

Unit 38 Soft c & s = sh

(saw, ship)

Unit 39 Soft g (jar)

Unit 40 gh (5)

Unit 41 Silent k, w, t, b, l No new sounds

Unit 42 se = z (zebra)

Unit 43 ph = f (fan)

Unit 44 le, tion, sion (leaf, ship)

Unit 45 -ed

No new sounds

Unit 46 Long Vowel in Open Syllables (cake, tree, 5, rose, mule)

Unit 47 37 Dolch List,

3 /zh/

Created by Donald L. Potter, 9/30/07. Skills added 2/18/12. Phonovisual correlation added 4/11/13. Last Revision on May 23, 2017. The Phonovisual Sound Pictures are in parenthesis. The two Phonovisual Charts (Consonants & Vowels) form a universal method for teaching the sound-to-symbol associations of written English. In constant use since 1942, they are a time-tested method for teaching phonemic awareness and phonics. Coupling the Phonovisual Charts and Blend Phonics forms a powerful combination that is easy to teach and leads to reading success for all students. www.phonovisual.com.

43

Dolch Sight-Words Taught Phonetically in Hazel Loring’s Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics for First Grade

(Countering the false claims that Dolch Sight-Words are so irregular that they have to be taught with whole-word memorization)

a U35 call U33 gave U14 keep U22 only -- sleep U21 very -- about U35 came U14 get U5 kind U15 open U45 small U33 after U20 can U1 give -- know U40 or U19 so U16 walk U40 again -- carry -- go U16 our U28 some -- want U10 all U35 clean U23 goes U26 laugh U39 out U28 soon U30 warm U18 always U33 cold U15 going U29 let U5 over U45 start U13 was U10 am U1 come -- good U31 light U39 own U27 stop U13 wash U10 an U1 could -- got U3 like U14 we U16 and U6 cut U4 green U22 little U43 pick U6 take U14 well U5 any -- grow U27 live U14 play U21 tell U5 went U6 are -- did U2 long U11 please U41 ten U5 were -- around U35 do -- had U1 look U31 pretty U25 thank U8 what U10 as U41 does -- has U41 pull U36 that U8 when U10 ask U6 done -- have -- made U14 put U36 the U16 where -- at U1 don’t -- he U16 make U14 their -- which U10 ate U14 dawn U32 help U6 many -- ran U1 them U8 white U14 away U21 draw U32 her U20 may U21 read U23 then U8 who -- drink U17 here U14 me U16 red U5 there -- why U25 be U16 him U2 much U9 ride U14 these U14 will U2 because U41 eat U23 his U41 must U7 right U39 they -- wish U7 been -- eight -- hold U15 my U25 round U35 think U8 with U8 before U19 every -- hot U3 myself U25 run U4 this U8 work U20 best U6 how U27 those U14 would -- better U20 fall U33 hurt U20 never U20 said -- three U22 write U40 big U2 far U18 new U34 saw U32 to -- black U13 fast U6 I U16 no U16 say U21 today -- yellow U27 blue U34 find U15 if U2 not U3 see U22 together -- yes U5 both U15 first U22 in U2 now U27 seven U17 too U30 you U28 bring U17 five U14 into -- shall U7 try U25 your -- brown U27 fly U25 is U42 of -- she U16 two -- but U4 for U19 it U5 off U3 show U27 buy -- found U28 its U6 old U15 sing U11 under U20 by U25 four U28 on U3 sit U2 up U4 from -- jump U6 once -- six U2 upon U13 full U5 just U6 one -- us U4 funny U25 use U41 These 220 words make up from 50% to 75% of all ordinary reading-matter. U = Blend Phonics Unit. The three words in italics (away, seven, upon) are not in Reading Made Easy With Blend Phonics for First Grade, but they are in Mr. Potter’s Blend Phonics Fluency Drills and Blend Phonics Lessons and Stories.

44

Only 40 of the 220 Dolch List Words are absent from Hazel Loring’s

original Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics for First Grade again any are away been buy carry come could do does done don’t eight every from give have into many of once one only said seven some their they to today together two upon very were where who would your Note: “Of” is the only word that can be considered completely irregular; the others are only slightly irregular. Līve is regular, but with lĭve the e is there because of the v, which cannot end a word. Here is a useful classification of the omissions: 3 Regular words: away, seven, upon (Included in Blend Phonics Lessons & Stories.) 37 Semi-Irregular words: again any are been buy carry come could do does done don’t eight from very give have into many of once one only said some their they to today together two very were where who would your (Unit 47 in Blend Phonics is dedicated to teaching these words.)

o=Long oo o=Short ŭ ai=Short ĕ ou=Short oo a=Short ĭ do come again would any to done said could many today does together some two one who once into of from Have has a short ă before a single consonant, e is there because a word cannot end in v (In this case the final e is not a long vowel marker). Give is similar to have in that the i is short before a single consonant, and the e is there because the word cannot end with v. Are is regular except for the silent e. In carry the a before the double r is long, this is a rather common pattern, marry is good example. In eight the eigh in a long ā is a common pattern as in weight, freight, etc. Were is regular except for the silent e. In very the r goes with the y and not the e, the e being short. In every the first e is short and the second is not sounded. Buy has a unsounded u to distinguish it from the preposition by. Been is pronounced with a single short ĭ in the United States. The long ā pronunciation of ei and ey in their and they are simply alternative spellings. I believe the o in don’t is long because of the double consonant n’t. The o of of is the schwa sound and the f is pronounced as v, which is a simple voicing of the usually voiceless consonant letter. The o in only is a long ō, I am not sure why. In my dialect where is pronounced /hwĕr/, but across America it is subject to considerable variation in pronunciation. Your is pronounced a couple different ways, I use the short oo; but children find it easy to identify just from the sounds of the y-r.

45

Sample Phonovisual Charts

Explanation of Scientific Organization of Charts

Consonant Chart: The top of the chart starts at the front of the mouth and goes to the back going down the column. The first column (p, wh, f, th, t, s, sh, ch, k, h) are unvoiced consonants (Quiet Cousins). The second column (b, w, v, th, d, z, j, g) represents voiced consonants (Noisy Cousins). The third column (m, n, ng) are nasals (Singing Cousins). The column on the right (qu, l, r, y, x) relates to the consonants to the left according to points of articulation (Relatives). Vowel Chart: Top row are long vowels spellings. Second row are short vowel spellings. The vowels below the short vowel row are called “other vowels.” The small print represents secondary spellings. Color Coded Large Wall Charts, Small Student Charts, and Flashcards can be ordered from www.phonovisual.org. They are a useful aid to teaching the sound-to-symbol correspondences.